After he defeated the Dollmaker, Dejan called for the Yugoslavian army to come and collect his prisoner.
"Since he's a Villain, shouldn't you turn him over to our country's GHF branch?"
Mira asked as soldiers took the Dollmaker away.
"No, I captured him, so he will be under my jurisdiction. I don't care if this is a Kismet issue; he attacked my cute children, so I'll handle him personally."
Vesna walked up to him and hugged him from behind.
"Sorry."
She whispered in his ear. Dejan remained silent and observed his surroundings. His eyes lingered on the remains of the hostages scattered across the area.
"Mira, Kira."
"Yes, sir."
The twins answered in unison.
"There will be times when you have to make tough decisions in order to protect what you must."
He looked at them with a piercing gaze.
"Never hesitate. Do what you must. You can ask for forgiveness once you've protected what you needed to. Also..."
Dejan's gaze softened.
"Make sure to properly face your sins head-on. Never run from them, or they will sneak up behind you and eat your heart away. Once you've lost your heart, you become nothing but tools for murder."
He walked up to them.
"We can't have that now, can we?"
He placed his hands on their heads and displayed a warm smile.
"After all, my kids will be great Heroes. Right?"
The twins nodded with teary eyes.
"Good."
He removed his hands and looked at his wife.
"Alright, let's go back to Serbia and prepare for Mikel and Bojana to stay the night."
"Then I'll reserve a Teleportation Array. I'm sure they'll use one to travel from Bosnia."
Dejan nodded with a smile.
"Let's go home.
Lisbon, Portugal.
"So, the Yugoslavs have the Dollmaker?"
Belinha was with her mother, who had just informed her of what happened with the twins and their parents. They were both sitting in the living room.
"Yeah, General Milenkovic refuses to hand him over until he's satisfied. We don't want to start a conflict with the Yugoslavs because of this, so we're just letting it happen for now. I just hope he shares whatever information he gets out of him."
Elisa sighed while leaning back in her chair.
"We need to know the Dollmaker's motive. Was he acting with desire to make a name for himself by killing the twins? Or was he someone who wanted to avenge the Calamities' honour?"
"Either reason will cause a massive headache."
Elisa nodded as a maid placed a tray of cookies in front of her.
"If it's the former, then the danger to Kismet is pretty high as random Villains will start targeting you."
She took up a cookie and ate it.
"If it's the latter, then I just hope he's just a normal fan."
"Are you wondering if he's connected to the Grand Church of Calamity?"
Belinha also took a cookie from the tray.
"I don't think he is. These reckless attacks would fit the old Church, when it was still divided into three separate churches, but since Sinvula and Alala destroyed the old churches and their remnants came together, the way they do things is a lot more concise and planned out. To be honest, not even we on the Board of Heroes know the true size and strength of the Grand Church. Their members have integrated so deeply into society, we can't track them like before."
She grinned.
"It's the same for the Calamities too."
"True, I believe Sinvula and Alala would've destroyed them again if they knew where to find them."
Elisa nodded.
"They've become that good. That's why I don't think the Dollmaker is one of them."
"But you believe he might have a connection to them....Like a disposable pawn."
Elisa pointed a cookie at Belinha.
"As expected of my daughter, you read my thoughts perfectly."
She finished the cookie in one bite.
"He might not be a member, but he can still be connected to them. We need to be certain because we're dealing with a dangerous group of fanatics of unknown strength."
"A really annoying enemy."
Elisa nodded.
"The only reason we know they still exist is because they announced it to us."
Belinha remembered when an ominous message was sent to the GHF's Headquarters.
"The heads of a Hero from every country in the world, all packed in one crate...What sick bastards."
Elisa wore a face of obvious disgust.
"Anyway, you guys need to be extra careful. Even if Dollmaker isn't connected to them, we can't ignore them."
"Yes, Mother."
The two finished the tray of cookies together before Elisa stood up.
"Your father should be home soon, so we should prepare for dinner."
"You still have room after eating most of the cookies?"
"Don't push your crimes on me. I only had a few."
Elisa smirked.
"Besides, thinking about Martha's cooking would make anybody hungry."
Belinha frowned.
"You have her cooking for you?"
"Hey, hey. Stop with the judging. She offered. Even after we told her we have people for that, she insisted. I guess she'll feel guilty living with us if she doesn't repay us somehow. Her cooking was delicious, so it worked out for us."
"What about our kitchen staff?"
"Still there, they just work with her."
Elisa stretched her body with a slight groan.
"Martha really loves cooking and has a talent for it, so the chefs have no problem with her in the kitchen. They learn from her and she learns from them."
Elisa started heading towards the kitchen.
"You might not like it, but some people like to express their gratitude with acts of service. It would be rude to deny their thanks as well."
".....I guess you're right."
Belinha stood up and followed behind her mother. Shortly after, the door opened and a lanky man dressed in a grey suit walked in. This man's skin was unhealthily pale, and his eyes looked sunken in. His curly brown hair was a mess, and he moved ghastly slow.
"I'm home."
His voice lacked power as he spoke, as if groaning.
"Is Belinha back?"
A servant took the man's bag and his jacket.
"Everyone's in the dining area, Sir."
"I see. I hope they haven't started without me."
Everyone was gathering in the dining room and watched with sparkling eyes as Martha placed dish after dish in front of them. When the final dish was placed, the man entered.
"Looks like I'm right on time."
"Welcome back, Rui. Have a seat."
Elisa greeted her husband and gestured for him to sit beside her. He did and a plate was put in front of him by a servant. He thanked the servant and looked towards Belinha and Celso, who sat beside each other.
"It's good to have my wonderful daughter home again."
"Good to see you in the flesh, Pai (Father)."
Belinha flashed her father a smile. He nodded and his eyes landed on Celso.
"Hello, Impactor. This is the first time we've met face to face."
Celso stood up and approached Rui, which caught everyone off guard. Rui watched him with a calm expression. Celso stopped and stretched his hand out towards him.
"Father-in-law, it's a pleasure to finally meet you!"
Celso spoke with an excited tone. Rui silently looked at him for a while before opening his mouth.
"Father-in-law?"
"Whose?"
"Mine's."
He became quiet again before turning to his wife.
"Do we have another child I've somehow forgotten?"
"None that I'm aware of."
Elisa used her fork to eat the lettuce on her plate.
"Secret child?"
"If I had discovered any, you'd be dead already."
Elise ate a cherry tomato with a smile. Rui turned his attention back to Celso.
"There seems to be some kind of misunderstanding here."
"Nope, I've decided to marry your daughter."
Rui remained silent for a bit before turning towards Belinha.
"So, this is your type?"
"No!"
Belinha shouted back before face-palming.
"Can you two cut it out? A joke isn't funny once you drag it for too long."
Elisa put down her fork and smiled at her husband.
"Alright. My bad."
"Senhor Lopes."
Celso was grinning at Rui as he spoke.
"I'm a big fan of the Blood Tyrant. My father would tell stories of you all the time when I was a kid."
"He did, did he?"
Rui glanced at Ruben from the corner of his eye. Ruben looked away.
"I'm curious. What did he say?"
Rui gave Celso his full attention.
"He talked about how you took down a dozen criminal enterprises in one night. How you once kidnapped a politician and threatened him when he wanted to arrest you for destruction of property. How you once destroyed a police station and acted like it was an accident."
Rui nodded without saying a word.
"But, Papai most likely made those stories up."
Fatima spoke up.
"After all, no one else knew about them, only him. There weren't even rumours on the internet."
"No, they're true."
Rui said before turning to Ruben.
"It's true, but it seems he failed to mention he was there doing all that stuff with me."
"What?"
Fatima and Celso looked at their father in shock.
"Oh, Ruben never told you guys?"
Elisa spoke up and pointed at her husband with her thumb.
"He and this guy were in a gang together when they were kids."
"What?!"
The children were all shocked.
"Oh, yeah. You didn't know either, Belinha."
Elisa spoke with a teasing tone.
"The reason why we volunteered to house Impactor's family is because your father and his were partners in crime in the past."
Belinha's jaw was floored.
"It's all in the past."
Ruben dismissively said.
"Nah, we're not just going to gloss over this."
But Celso wasn't having it.
"I knew you were an ex-gangster, but I never knew you were with the legendary Blood Tyrant! That's sick!"
"Like I said, the past."
Ruben failed to meet his son's gaze.
"Wait, then when you said you stole a police car during Impactor's Hero Interview, you weren't joking?"
Belinha asked her father with disbelief. Rui nodded.
"It was before I joined the GHF and met your mother."
Rui looked at Ruben with a small grin.
"Those were the days; don't you think, Ruben?"
"I regret everything."
Rui chuckled at Ruben's response before looking at Celso.
"Celso, if you're seriously thinking about marrying Belinha, you have my blessing since you're not some random guy."
"Seriously!"
Celso flew over to Rui and shook his hands.
"Thank you, Father-in-law! I'll work hard to inherit all of your wealth!"
"That will never happen!"
Belinha shouted while everyone else laughed.
After a while, the excitement died down and everyone was eating dinner and chatting with each other.
"By the way, Celso."
Rui called out to Celso.
"Yes, Papa."
"During the interview, you said you wanted to become a Hero to obtain money for your family."
"I did."
Rui put down his fork.
"It's safe to say you've achieved that. So I was curious, do you have a new goal?"
"I doubt it. This guy only thinks about food and fighting."
Belinha spoke.
"I actually have a new goal."
"You do?"
She looked at Celso and he nodded.
"I want to hear this."
"It's probably something stupid."
Elisa and Fatima also showed interest.
Celso put down his fork and grinned.
"It's nothing special. It's something I've always wanted and now I know how to get it."
"The way he's talking is making me uneasy.
Martha said. Celso looked at everyone before declaring.
"All I've wanted my entire life is simple."
His grin grew wide.
"I want absolute and undeniable freedom, and to achieve that, I must become like the Three Calamities."